


conversations with dead people

by triggerhappyhope (starprise_entership)



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: 1-3 spoilers, M/M, Near-Death Experience, kiyotaka ishimaru lives, possible hallucination? it's up to you, spoilers for thh in general, thh 1-3 au!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26598100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starprise_entership/pseuds/triggerhappyhope
Summary: In what Ishimaru thinks is his final moments, he speaks to Mondo.
Relationships: Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo
Kudos: 107





	conversations with dead people

Ishimaru had been alert on his feet, waiting for the sender of the mysterious note to show up. 

One nasty surprise later and he was down on the ground, blood oozing from a grisly wound in the side of his skull.

He flipped himself over with what little strength he had left, his vision obscured by the blood dripping over his brow and the sheer pain of the impact wound. But his attacker was long gone before he could catch a glimpse of them, only feeling their fast, heavy footsteps against the tiled floor.

This was it. He was going to die here.

_ No, no! _ Ishimaru gritted his teeth, fighting to stay awake.  _ I can’t die yet, I-I’d have failed my family!  _ Panic flooded his veins as the grim reality of things started to set in. He cried out in desperation, hoping anyone would hear, hoping that his attacker would have a change of heart and come back for him...but he knew no matter how loud he screamed it would never be enough. It would be at least another hour before nighttime ended, and it would take his classmates a while more to notice his absence. 

Help was never going to come in time. 

He was not quite alive, but not dead yet. For this time where he drifted by that thin line between life and death, giving up seemed like the only option, even if it went completely against his spirit to do so. 

It only seemed appropriate, that now, his life was flashing before his eyes.

But it wasn’t his life as he remembered it - his brain now taunted him with scenarios of what  _ could have been _ . If only he hadn’t stepped into Hopes’ Peak Academy only for the killing game to start - there he was, living his normal school life, when all was calm. Pleasant visions of neat, pristine uniforms; of the crisp pages of his textbooks. Genuine laughter and smiles all around, a warm hand in his when he walked back to the dorms in the evening. And suddenly the peace stopped and everyone was locked in within the school. The big iron plates went up over all the windows, and the poignant sadness as he saw the sun for the last time ever _ \- and that horrible moment when he was dragged away from Mondo, kicking and screaming, as a needle pressed into his arm and then there was nothing but inky black -  _

And then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Those memories were real. 

They were as real to him as the man shaking him by the shoulders. ‘ _ Jesus fuckin’ Christ Taka...I can’t believe that bastard did that to you…’  _

‘M-Mondo?’ Ishimaru’s voice was weak. The face of the man he knew and loved came into his field of view. ‘Is that you?’

A strong hand ran through his cropped black hair, soothing him. ‘Yeah, it’s me, babe.’ 

Ishimaru fought the urge to tell him about the blood. ‘I’m sorry,’ he sobbed. ‘I forgot you, and the others,  _ but most of all you _ .’

Mondo hushed him. ‘It’s not yer fault. You don’t need ta be sorry.’

‘But all of that we went through together!’ Tears flowed from his eyes, mingling with the blood splattered on his cheeks. ‘You were my first friend! My  _ best  _ friend! You were so n-nice, and so sweet to me, and I couldn’t remember that. You were the most important person in my life a-and I just...forgot all of it!’

‘You couldn’t have done anythin’ about it.’ Warm, strong arms wrapped around him, and he felt safer than he had ever been before. 

‘You were my first love!’ Ishimaru bawled, his body trembling hard - surprisingly hard for a dying man. ‘Mondo, we were in  _ l-love _ !’ He sniffed, and the exertion made his head hurt so much he was in danger of passing out altogether. ‘You promised my father...before we got locked in here...that you would protect me as well as you could!  _ A-and that last night we s-spent together…’ _ His voice cracked. ‘ _ That was the happiest night of my life, Mondo, and I f-forgot-!’ _

‘It’s okay.” He felt a light kiss to the top of his head. ‘I forgot too, okay? So we’re even now.’ 

The world began to fade around Ishimaru, and he took a shaky breath. ‘I-I’m scared...a-am I dying?  _ Is this what dying feels l-like? _ ’

‘You gotta rest, Kiyotaka.’ Mondo rubbed soothing circles against his back. ‘You’re tired.’

Finally, Ishimaru’s breath left him in one long exhale, and he submitted. ‘Please d-don’t...leave me.’

‘Trust me, I don’t wanna leave you.’

…

‘But I’m not gonna be here when you wake up.’

* * *

When Ishimaru opened his eyes again, he was sure he was dead.

But the blood coating the side of his head and pooling on the tarp beneath him had dried.

Yamada’s body lay a short distance away, stiff and unmoving.

With some difficulty, he gathered his bearings. It seemed that now he was in the art room repository, instead of the equipment room.

Mondo was nowhere to be found.

The school was silent, as silent as the dead.

Ishimaru figured that this had to be his own personal purgatory.

Meanwhile, his head still pounded with all the intensity of a jackhammer.  _ Best to take care of that first _ , he figured.

His journey down to the first floor was slow and arduous. Each step felt like climbing a mountain, but he continued on, powered by his sheer determination.

Just as he was rounding the corner to the nurse’s office, the unthinkable happened.

The red door at the end of the hallway creaked open, and Ishimaru counted seven blurry figures as they emerged.

There was a dull thud that sounded like a sack of bricks hitting the floor, and then Asahina screamed.

‘I-Ishimaru?!’

* * *

‘I remember him, you know.’

‘Who?’ Naegi unwrapped the bandages around Ishimaru’s head, ready to apply a new set of dressings. 

‘M-Mondo.’ Ishimaru’s voice came out slurred from exhaustion, but he still managed to crack a smile. ‘Mondo and I were in a relationship.’ 

The other boy gave a light chuckle, but Ishimaru had the feeling that he hadn’t quite understood. 

‘We all went to Hopes’ Peak together. But all our memories were taken away.’ 

_ ‘We all lost our memories, you say?’ _

Kirigiri had entered the room, and was staring Ishimaru down with an indiscernible expression.

She crossed her arms, leather gloves creaking as she clenched her hands. ‘Ishimaru, I apologise for interrupting your rest time, but I have some matters to discuss with you.’


End file.
